Strategy for splitting functions and methods

  • Post category:Clean Code

Strategies for splitting functions and methods help modularize your code and improve readability. Here are some strategies for splitting functions and methods in Python:

  • Adhere to the single responsibility principle:
    Python functions and methods should adhere to the single responsibility principle, which means they should focus on one function or responsibility. If a function or method performs multiple functions simultaneously, the code becomes less readable and more difficult to maintain. Therefore, it is recommended to split functions and methods into smaller units and focus on their respective functions.

  • Separate redundant code:
    Duplicate code hurts readability and should be separated. If you have duplicate code in multiple places that does similar things, break it out into separate functions so that you can reuse it. By extracting duplicate code into functions, you can improve the readability of your code, and if necessary, you can modularize those functions and make them available in other files as well.

  • Make your code more cohesive:
    A function or method should be written so that it is cohesive. Cohesion refers to the consistency and relatedness of your code. Code that performs similar tasks should be grouped together and extracted as functions or methods, and related code should be gathered in one place. This improves the readability of the code and makes it easier to maintain.

  • Control function arguments and return values:
    The arguments and return values of a function or method play an important role in making your code more readable. Using too many arguments complicates the function call and makes it harder to understand. Ensure that only the necessary information is accepted as an argument, and use keyword arguments when necessary to improve readability. Also, ensure that return values are clear and meaningful, so that the intent of the code is clearly communicated.

  • Remove temporary variables:
    Unnecessary temporary variables can reduce readability. Improve to use the return value of a formula or function directly without using temporary variables. This can make your code more concise and readable.

These are general strategies that can help you break up your functions and methods and improve readability. However, we recommend that you choose the right strategy based on your actual situation and improve your code incrementally. You should consider the purpose and requirements of your code and try to improve the readability of your code while splitting and refactoring functions and methods.

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Here’s an example of splitting a function that processes a list of orders:

def process_orders(orders):
    # Order confirmation
    for order in orders:
        if is_valid_order(order):
            process_payment(order)
            update_inventory(order)
            send_confirmation(order)
        else:
            handle_invalid_order(order)

def is_valid_order(order):
    # Logic to validate orders
    # ...

def process_payment(order):
    # Payment processing logic
    # ...

def update_inventory(order):
    # Inventory update logic
    # ...

def send_confirmation(order):
    # Logic for sending order confirmation emails
    # ...

def handle_invalid_order(order):
    # Invalid fulfillment logic
    # ...

In the example code above, the process_orders() function is responsible for processing the list of orders. However, the function does not adhere to the single responsibility principle because it performs multiple tasks. By splitting it up, we can improve the readability of the code.


def process_orders(orders):
    for order in orders:
        process_single_order(order)

def process_single_order(order):
    if is_valid_order(order):
        process_payment(order)
        update_inventory(order)
        send_confirmation(order)
    else:
        handle_invalid_order(order)

def is_valid_order(order):
    # Logic to validate orders
    # ...

def process_payment(order):
    # Payment processing logic
    # ...

def update_inventory(order):
    # Inventory update logic
    # ...

def send_confirmation(order):
    # Logic for sending order confirmation emails
    # ...

def handle_invalid_order(order):
    # Invalid fulfillment logic
    # ...

In the refactored code, the process_orders() function iterates through the order list and calls the process_single_order() function. The process_single_order() function processes a single order, and each task is split into a separate function, adhering to the principle of single responsibility. This makes the code more readable and easier to maintain, as each function has a distinct role.

The above example is a simple example dealing with order processing. However, ensuring that functions and methods are properly split and have single responsibility is one of the core principles of Clean Code creation.